Chapter 159

The Yuri Empire is currently sending the children of <Nadeshiko> servants to several countries as secret agents, and one of the target countries is the Kingdom of Rapier.

The secret agents that were sent to gather information during the Yubel incident are still in hiding.

In the past, the attempt on Yubel’s life was judged to be a ‘dark plot by the second prince Lazar’ and was dealt with by King Raven, who personally took away the right of succession of the second prince of Lazar.

It was probably not done purely by the will of the second prince Lazar. There was almost certainly a nobleman behind it who had influenced the second prince’s decision and inspired him to do the deed.

This is why Yuri had the secret agents she had sent to the Kingdom of Rapier continue their investigation, focusing mainly on the nobles in the vicinity who were in the second prince’s camp.

This time, the infiltrators got unexpected information―――evidence that a certain nobleman was in league with another country.

It seems that the person with whom he is communicating is the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hydra.

“Where is this ‘Kingdom of Hydra’ located?”

“It is a nation located to the west of the Kingdom of Rapier, with a land area slightly larger than half of the current Yuri Empire. I’ve heard that it’s a nation with a lot of flat land along the sea.”

Partita, the captain of <Nadeshiko>, answers Yuri’s question.

To the west of the Yuri Empire is the Holy Land of Nimun, and to the west of that is the Kingdom of Rapier. When it came to the west, Yuri didn’t really understand.

“Hmm… It’s a small country in the eyes of the Yuri Empire, but it’s a big enough country for the Kingdom of Rapier.”

“That’s true. The Kingdom of Rapier has a problem with its land.”

The Kingdom of Hydra is about 1.5 times the size of the Kingdom of Rapier.

It’s not as if it’s an absolute difference in terms of pure area ratio, but I’ve heard that nearly 80% of the Kingdom of Rapier is mountainous and the climate is changing rapidly, making it difficult for people to live and produce crops.

On the other hand, if the Kingdom of Hydra is a flat land by the sea. There will probably be a noticeable gap in their national strength, comparable to that of a small country and a large country.

“If you’re a big country, why don’t you just be a big country and use pure power to subdue smaller countries? It’s a surprisingly boring approach.”

“That’s right. There’s no dignity in this.”

Partita agreed with what Yuri had said while reading the report at hand.

According to the report from the secret agent hiding in the Kingdom of Rapier, it seems that the nobleman who incited the second prince Lazar to harm Princess Yubel is Count Mikhail.

It seems that the Kingdom of Hydra, in its attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Rapier, first plotted against Count Mikhail and turned him to its side.

In the report put together by the child of the follower of <Nadeshiko>, the text of all the letters sent to Count Mikhail by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hydra in the past was copied in full.

“… You’re a very insecure count.”

Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle.

It would be foolish to keep a letter that was exchanged with an enemy country for posterity. At the very least, he should have burned it after reading it to destroy the evidence.

Count Mikhail has only one territory, a city with a population of 2,200.

Also, the territorial city is located in the western end of the Kingdom of Rapier. In other words, it’s located on the border with the Kingdom of Hydra.

“There is a silver mine not far from Count Mikhail’s estate. This silver mine and the nearest villages are under the direct control of the state and do not benefit Count Mikhail in any way.”

“I see.”

In this world, villages generally fall under the jurisdiction of the Lord who governs the nearest city.

However, the silver mines and villages are under the direct jurisdiction of the government, which is probably because of the high importance of the revenue produced by the silver mines to the Kingdom of Rapier, which has many poor lands.

However, from Count Mihaia’s point of view, there is no reason for him to follow the wishes of the government.

The fact that the silver mines and villages, which are right under his nose and should be part of his domain according to common sense, are controlled by the state and do not contribute to his interests at all, is something that the Count cannot tolerate.

According to the text of the letter copied in the report, the Kingdom of Hydra has promised to grant Count Mikhail control over the silver mines in addition to his current territory when he conquers the Kingdom of Rapier.

In response to this promise, Count Mihaia has been receiving instructions from the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hydra and has been repeatedly working in the dark in various ways to weaken the Kingdom of Rapier.

The other day, when Prince Lazar acted to harm the princess, Yubel, Count Mikhail was directly involved as the one who incited the prince.

It’s not that he wants Prince Lazar to take over the throne, but rather that he wants to destabilize the situation in the Kingdom of Rapier by killing the one who has the right to inherit the throne.

“What you’re doing is so dirty… I can see through the character of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hydra.”

“It may sound prudent, but it seems to me that he is a cowardly person who is not suitable for the position of Prime Minister. The Kingdom of Hydra has a hypothetical enemy to the north, so even if they were to conquer the Kingdom of Rapier, they would probably want to minimize the wear and tear on their forces.”

“By the way, how is the Kingdom of Hydra in terms of military power?”

“It’s far more powerful than the Kingdom of Rapier, at least. It is said that they operate a unit called the ‘Dragon Cavalry’ and they also can control the air in a crooked way.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

The ‘dragon cavalry’ is probably a unit of knights who ride dragons.

Even the weakest wyvern has a strength of about level 50. If you’ve got knights that can tame those demons, you can evaluate that they’re a sufficiently powerful army in this world.

‘By the way, the Dragon Trooper rides a level 15 dragon named Loftsdrake.’

“… Is there such a low-level dragon?”

“Yes, they seem to exist in this world.”

“Hmm…?”

As the world changes, the types of demons become completely different.

It wouldn’t be surprising if there were low-level dragons that Yuri didn’t know about.

“―――I’d love to have one.”

“The Kingdom of Hydra, is it?”

“No, I want that dragon called Loftsdrake. If it’s a demon of that level, there are not many people in the Yuri Empire who can’t tame it.”

“Ah… that’s for sure. Because the average level of the people has reached a level that rivals or even exceeds that of the knightly corps of a poor country.”

For the people of the Yuri Empire, the “Labyrinth” is a familiar place. Of course, some people hate fighting and don’t use it at all, but they are only in the minority.

If it was a level 15 demon, there would be far fewer people who couldn’t defeat it.

“Partita, please have the <Nadeshiko> girls gather information about the Loftsdrake demon. If any other low-level demons could be used for air transport, it would be great if you could find out about them as well.”

“Yes, Master.”

As there are troops who have tamed it, it is safe to assume that it has been proven that the Loftsdrake monster can be tamed by human hands.

Even if you don’t have a vocation that allows you to use demons, such as 〔Summoner〕if there is a demon that you can use, its value is immeasurable. Whether you are transporting goods or people. The significance of securing the means of ‘air transportation’ is that great.

(… For now, shall I take all the dragons of the Kingdom of Hydra・・・?)

Although we have not yet established a relationship with the Kingdom of Rapier to the point of allying. As long as they have formally welcomed Yubel as Yuri’s‘ fifth concubine’, they are a friendly country.

If the Kingdom of Hydra is planning to conquer the Kingdom of Rapier, the act of weakening the Kingdom of Hydra will also help the friendly Kingdom of Rapier.

(It’s not a bad idea to offer a favor to King Raven.)

If Yuri takes away the dragon of the dragon cavalry from the country and also provides him with the entire information in this report, Yuri will be able to make a reasonable debt to King Raven.

If only I could make a ‘loan’ while I’m at it. If the Kingdom of Hydra invaded, it would be easier for the Yuri Empire to intervene in the war.